Steven Universe in Project Echidna
by OMAC001
Summary: Someone once said, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." Well Steven and friends will have to travel through a 'hell' of his mother Rose Quartz's creation! Will, Steven, Connie and the Crystal Gems survive this labyrinth of monsters and madmen?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue: Innocent Past

 _Millennia ago (6000 years)…_

Rose Quartz stood on the sandy dune overlooking the beachside with a small smile gracing her face. Below, both Gems and Warriors were socializing after a hard fought War against the Diamond Authority and the Shear Dominion.(1) The older members conversed and party in hopeful tones, while the younger members played around in the sand like children. Any divide between them forgotten for this one glorious day! Rose sighed happily at the sight…

"I hope you realize that this will not last." stated Lord Titanium plainly, standing like a stoic guardian behind Rose.

Rose huffed and replied, "You should really learn to live in the moment. We have accomplished much and they deserve a moment to enjoy their victory."

"But as the leaders of our respective forces, _we_ need to look to the future." retorted Titanium before continuing, "The deactivation of the Kindergarten release many corrupted Gems into the world and we have already seen that your healing abilities are not enough to return them to their original form."

Rose stared sadly at a scene of a young Amethyst and Mercury chasing each other around, using their respective shapeshifting abilities to add to the fun, "And what would you suggest?"

"Containment…at least until a treatment can be fully utilized. My Warriors seem immune to whatever causes Gems to be corrupted, so they will stand guard over whatever site chosen to keep them." explained Titanium, in a logical tone of voice.

Rose thought about Titanium's suggest before replying, "As much as I trust the skill of your Warriors, there are Gems who would disagree because of our two races…past differences. Besides, I could not simple resign a Gem to indefinite captivity. There must be another way."

"Ah, my child. The answer you seek lies with compromise." stated Aurum(2), leader of the combined forces of Gems and Warriors. With a goldstone gem in his third eye chakra, Aurum form was a golden variation of an elderly Eastern holy man, with a golden monk staff in his right hand, holding him up. As a hybrid between Warrior and Gem, Aurum was respected by both sides for his wisdom and strength. It was _**he**_ who help Rose and Titanium to see the potential of Humanity.

"Master!" exclaimed Titanium and Rose at the same time before bowing to their old teacher.

Aurum laughed softly before motioning his pupils to rise before he continued explaining, "As I said, a compromise will solve this problem. It is true that we cannot allow the corrupted Gems, but it is also true we cannot simply lock them away without even trying to save them. I believe, Titanium, that you have a facility built in the **black forest** that could keep them contained?"

"Yes, though I thought the idea was to _treat_ them as well as contain them?" queried Titanium in response.

"Yes, which is why the Gems will provide healers and designs for additional treatment facilities. And once we have rounded up all the corrupt Gems, Rose can focus her time on healing our wounded sisters." Aurum finished explaining.

Rose and Titanium mulled over Aurum's plan, trying to see if anything could go wrong. It was not that they didn't have faith in their teacher, quite the opposite. But Aurum never allowed anyone to simple agree with his suggestion, because he knew he was as capable of mistake as the next person. See no fault with the plan, Titanium and Rose began discussions on how to make it a reality.

Rose decided that the scientific head of the project had to be Onyx, a cool logical Gem, while the head of the healers had to be Jade, a warm compassionate individual who studied the healing arts as well as combat. Titanium decided that the head of security had to be Wolfram, a no nonsense Warrior respected for his ability to lead other Warriors through the thick of combat with no causalities. There were additional details, such as ways to keep the facility isolated from humans and methods of keeping the creatures contained, though they had to be reformed occasionally to apply new methods. There was just one little detail left to be decided…

"This project needs a name!" declared Titanium, standing up in a dramatic poses.

Rose giggled at Titanium's few and far between antics, then she spotted a little creature on the ground. It was ball of spins with a long anteater nose. Picking the creature up, Rose struggled to remember what the humans called this _adorable little thing_. Then she remembered and smirked at the rather ironic name for the cute little creature. Then she turned to Titanium with the creature nestled in her arms (the spines not hurting in the least) and said;

"Why not… _ **Project Echidna!**_ "

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. Nice to be back, my father is getting better and should be home in a week or so. That means you might see more updates from me sooner. I stress 'might' because of chance and happenstance. Hope you like this little look into the past (and I know that Echidna was named by European explorers and probably wasn't named at this point in the story, but I had to come up with a reason for Rose to help in something named after a mythological monster). Anyway, be sure to Read and Reviw!

1 Diamond Authority is a favored name for the Homeworld Gems government, while Shear Dominion is a name I made up for the Warriors' counterpart on Allo.

2 The voice actor for Aurum I had in mind would be either Randall Duk Kun (Voice of Oogway in 'Kung Fu Panda') or Brian George (voice of Guru Pathik in 'Avatar: The Last Airbender')


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One: Ominous Openings

 _Two days after "Illumination"…_

The Black Forest (or _Schwarzwald_ ) of Germany…a mystic place in the mind of even the natives of the region. Though inhabited by man, the forest held an ancient mystery and wonder. This particular region has seen no human habitation in a long while, perhaps back to the tribal days of Germany. The only sign of civilization was certainly not human…in was a Gem Warp Pad, almost overgrown with ivy.

A brief flash appeared dispelling the ivy and morning mist revealing the Crystal Gems Steven and Connie on the Warp Pad. The Gems were in their usual attire, looking around, searching for any sign of danger for their young charges. Steven was shivering, even though he had brought his pink heavy jacket, not used to the cooler temperatures of the mountainous region. Connie just stood in awe, this being her first time using a Warp Pad.

"And you guys do that every day?!" asked Connie, incredulous at the so-so attitude the Gems had to something so wonderful.

Apparently Connie had said that too loudly, because Pearl rushed over and put a finger to Connie's lips whispering, "Would you keep _quiet_?! We don't knowing if the security system is still active."

"Security system?" asked Steven.

Pearl sighed before answering quietly, "Steven, we already went over this when left. We're going to a secure facility."

"But you never explain what exactly makes this place so special." explained Steven.

"Or why Titanium seemed interested in this place." added Connie, with Steven nodding in agreement.

Pearl sighed before looking at the other two Gems. Amethyst gave a thumbs up will Garnet simply nodded. Taking a deep breath (more out of habit than necessity) Pearl began her explanation, "Remember how I told you about the 'monsters' being corrupted Gems? Well, we tried _everything_ to heal them, but no one could find a solution, not even Rose. So the Echidna facility was created to not only hold the corrupted Gems but to study them and come up with solutions."

"Wait, if something like that exists, then why do we keep them bubbled up in the Temple?" asked Steven, thinking about the Centipeedle still in its bubble.

This time it was Garnet who answered, "The war with the Forged Warriors. The facility kept falling in and out of each of our control territory. We essentially lost contact about fifty years ago."

"Yeah, the world was going crazy back then! People were all paranoid and each side had to be careful where we fought. Besides, the place was a wreck last time I saw it." exclaimed Amethyst quietly as she could.

Connie couldn't help but ask, "But then…why did we wait so long to come here? Titanium already came and went from what you said before."

All of the Gems (save Steven) looked at Connie oddly. It had become fairly obvious that the Gems were becoming uncomfortable with having Connie around Steven. But there were two reasons for Connie to be there: some of the security measures require a forged Warrior (which Connie was half of now) and…Steven insisted Connie come along on the adventure. Connie had always wanted to join Steven on one of his magical missions but couldn't because she was…vulnerable. Her transformation killed any argument to that effect and Steven was excited to share a mission with Connie.

"The truth is we were waiting for Titanium to leave." Garnet explained, "He beat us soundly the last time we fought him. We also needed go over what we remember about the security system. It was designed not only to keep humans away but keep the 'patients' in."

"Well, doesn't look like anything's working. We should have at least…Look out!" exclaimed Amethyst as she duck under a fast moving shape. Instantly Pearl began to shoot at other fast objects with energy blasts from her Spear. Steven took cover, while Connie's clothes changed into armor(1) and opened her _tessen_ ready for a fight. Garnet simply stood for a moment before summoning her Gauntlets and smashed them together unleashing a small EMP!

The shapes fell to the ground revealing themselves to be robots in the shape of ravens with razor wings. Picking one up, Pearl scoffed in disgust, "Stygians! Always hated those things!"

"Whoever's running the facility knows we're coming now." stated Garnet before crushing one of the robots underfoot and continuing to walk in the direction of the facility. The Gems followed with Steven and Connie close behind.

Steven was looking at Connie funny prompting her to ask, "What?"

"Nothing!" exclaimed Steven embarrassed that he was caught staring, before he worked up the nerve to ask, "It's just…how long have you had that armor under your…clothes."

Connie looked down at the armor and explained, "I never really took it off. You see…its less clothing and more like scales or a shell that grows every time I'm in danger or agitated. I experimented with it whenever I could and I think I can summon it at will now."

Steven had an shocked look on his face, cheeks red as he ask his next question, "Does that mean…that technically…your naked right now?"

Connie blushed and blanched at Steven suggestion, only to be interrupted by Pearl giggling good naturedly and explained, "Connie is no more 'naked' than an Earth turtle while still wearing his shells. In fact, all Warriors have that rather adaptive covering. It used to just be used as camouflage or armor, before Gems introduce the concept of fashion and style in clothes."

"So, their clothes are like part of their body?" asked Steven not fully understanding the concept, while Connie look relieved that Steven was proven incorrect.

"Why, yes! Even if what the Warrior wear _looks_ like it's made of cloth, it's actually more like a flexible carapace or chitin, only several magnitudes stronger than those found of Earth animals. They can even consciously change it to fit their personal 'style'." explained Pearl using air quotes on the word 'style'.

Steven mulled over this information before Garnet informed the group, "We're here." Before them loomed a massive door, cleverly disguised to look like the side of a mountain at a distance. The only way to tell the difference was a small ( _four feet around_ ) echidna ( _the animal_ ) carved in mountain side. Stepping up the carving, Garnet with her Gems exposed stood there as a scan beam appeared from the eyes of the echidna. After the scan was down, silence ensued before a massive hologram was projected from those same eyes. It was the head of a Gem, pale skin with black wearing what looked like coke-bottle glasses held on a button nose with a stern but curious expression on her face and a square onyx barely bigger than a thumb on her forehead.

"Garnet of Rose." said Onyx in a disinterested but soft tone(2), "Been fifty-seven earth years since last…'visit'. Social interaction unlikely…needs of some sort, but what?"

"Onyx, we need to know if-" began Garnet only to be interrupted when Onyx turned her gaze towards the children.

"Hmmm…a child Gem and Warrior…no…sensors detected traces of human DNA! Hybrids! Fascinating, but how? Why? Need to run deeper scans…" analyzed Onyx at near inhuman speeds making her words almost run together. Steven thought it was kind of funny while Connie was getting nervous at Onyx's behavior.

"ONYX!" shouted Garnet to get Onyx's attention. Seeing Onyx's gaze turn back towards her (looking annoyed that she could not continue her studies), Garnet continued, "We know that Titanium was here less than two days ago. What happened?"

Pursing her lips in an attempt to remember the incident clearly, Onyx replied, "Titanium did arrive yesterday. Had tour of facilities, see how treatment was progressing. Solution not found, but close…so very close…"

"You've been saying that for over _two hundred years!_ " said Pearl disparagingly. She always remembered how upset Rose Quartz became at the lack of progress. Thus Pearl became skeptically of any claim Onyx had.

Onyx simple gave a knowing smirk and asked, "Like to see?" And with that he hologram disappeared and a second later the doors began to open. With a loud groan of disuse, the echidna carving split in half as the massive twenty foot doors opened. Finally, the doors opened enough for the group to walk in, though all that could be seen was pitch black.

"Come in! Come in! So little time, so much to see." Onyx's voice sounded from a loudspeaker inviting them in. Though even Steven was cautious at the invitation. Slowly but surely, the group made their way into the facility until they disappeared into the darkness. Then the doors closed shut just as slowly and noisily as before, the echidna's eyes glowing red with the sound of a massive lock being activated. And then…a _**scream was heard from behind the door!**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. I can't tell you how hard it is to write a story like this when we are already on season two. I will endeavor to continue with the series but I will probably have the next story take place much later, like after "Jailbreak". Also might do a drabble series on how certain episodes change in this new universe. Think I should? As always, please Read and Review!

1 See the original 'Forged Warriors' story to get an idea as to how the armor looks.

2 I imagine the voice of Onyx would be Andrea Libman, voice of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy on "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic." I'm also trying to make her sound like Mordin Solus of the Mass Effect game series. You know, not wasting time with 'extraneous words.'


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two: Illusive Introductions

To recap, the Crystal Gems, Connie, and Steven had just walked through the entrance of the Echidna facility. Past the massive armored doors was, what could be described as a hospital waiting room. Only the white paint had chipped away, the seats looked beaten up and there was no front desk, just a multiple number of doors. Just then, the main doors closed rather noisily shutting the group inside the creepy room.

"Don't worry. That's just standard procedure to keep the…'patients' from escaping. There is nothing to worry about." reassured Pearl, seeing Steven and Connie becoming nervous at the doors shutting.

"And yet you are shaking like a leaf!" came a harsh whisper(1) to Pearls ear, causing Pearl to scream and leap into Garnet's arms. Out of the shadows, with a wicked grin on his face, emerged Wolfram, standing near eye level with Garnet. A broad shouldered individual with thick muscular arms and legs, Wolfram's black hair was a military buzz cut and trim black beard, his skin as white as a sheet, and his eyes a sickly yellow. His form of dress was an emasculate German military uniform (from World War **II** ) with black boots professionally polished.

"I see you haven't changed much, dear Pearl." stated in a deep, rich timbre Wolfram, as Pearl climb out of Garnet's arms.

Embarrassed by her own reaction, Pearl cleared her throat and said, "Steven Connie, this is Wolfram…the head of security (and annoying prankster)."

Wolfram shrugged his shoulders and stated simply, "Stay at this place long enough and you'll look for _anything_ to relieve the boredom." Then Wolfram walked around the children, sniffing like a dog before asking, "Since when has your group started associating with…humans?"

Steven was about to correct Wolfram, before Amethyst covered his mouth and answered, "Oh, you know? Stuff got a _little_ crazy and Rose thought use somebody to talk with the locals. No big thing."

Wolfram held a skeptical look, before continuing his inquiries, "And where is Rose? It's not like her to leave you three _unsupervised_."

"She's busy." Garnet replied curtly, not taking the 'unsupervised' comment in strides, "Now are we going to get the tour or not?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Wolfram motioned the group to follow. It was only after Wolfram was far enough ahead that Amethyst let go of Steven's mouth, whispering, "Sorry Stevie. But we _cannot_ let these guys know about what happened to Rose."

"You mean…they don't already?" asked Steven.

"The facility is designed to be isolated, so of course, they aren't up to date on…certain details. And it is important they stay that way! There is no telling how they'll react to Rose's…disappearance." explained Pearl, being careful about mentioning anything involving Rose Quartz.

"Who exactly is they?" asked Connie before explaining, "I mean we've seen Onyx and Wolfram, but is there anyone else here?"

"Aside from the inmates, there was one other guard…Magnesium." explained Garnet.

"Let's hope that he finally died." hoped Pearl, leading to some shock looks from the children, "Let's just say there's a reason she was called ' _Mad Dog Maggie_ ' in the old days and leave it at that."

Wolfram open the door in front of him unleashed a tide of noise and confusion! The sounds of various monster roars and scratches could be heard in a deafening volume. As the group walked through the corridor, the group walked passed cells where various creatures were behind seemingly plate glass. The creatures were bashing into the 'glass' trying to bust out, though thankfully the 'glass' held.

"Don't worry. The cells are sealing with Diamond Glass and the walls are made from Megateel(2). No way are they getting out." stated Wolfram in a reassuring tone, somehow his voice carrying over the noise. Motioning for the group to continue through the next doorway, the group came to what looked like a large training gym…occupied by one of the monsters!

The Gems summoned their weapons to get ready for battle, only to be stopped in their tracks by Wolfram. It turned out the monster was already busy…fighting another Warrior! This one was a woman wearing a long red trench coat with knee high leather boots and a strange hockey mask covering her face. She wielded two Japanese _kama_ , small handheld sickles, with lightning speed cutting chunks out of the monster. Suddenly, she threw the _kama_ into the air and caught them blade first!

It was only they noticeable that Magnesium (as it was fairly obvious from previous conversation) was wearing thick leather gloves. Also, the 'handles were hollow and in between the handle and the blade was a gun trigger! Each time Magnesium squeezed the trigger, a small _fireball_ shot out of the gun barrels at a semi-automatic pace. With the monster weakened, Magnesium held the triggers this time, unleashing a stream of fire like miniature flamethrowers. Finally, the creature retreated back into its gem with a poof.

"Yeah! That's right, bitch! You're the shrimp on the barbie!" exclaimed the enthusiastic Magnesium, with a slight Australian accent.(3) Swaggering forward, picking up the gem and tossing it over to be caught by Pearl without even looking (though Pearl fumbled a bit in the catch), Magnesium turned around and threw off her mask, revealing her bald, tattoo covered head. Loving the shocked looks from the children, Maggie said, "Ya like it? Did the designs meself, with a little local inspiration. Anyway, allows me to introduce meself…I'm MADDOG Magnesium! But you kiddies can just called me Maggie."

A little shocked by 'Maggie's' abrupt manner, Steven cautiously step forward to return the introduction for both himself and his friends, "Hi…Maggie. I'm Steven! And this is Connie! And these are-"

"The oh so _fabulous_ Crystal Gems." finished for Steven in a rather scathing tone, "I know who they are Stevey-boy. There's _prissy Pearl_ , _gloomy Garnet_ , and let's not forget about dear old Amy. Did she ever tell how close we was in the ol' days? Probably not…considering she hasn't even sent a holo-hello in **over fifty years!** "

Steven looked back at Amethyst rubbing the back of the neck with a guilty expression on her face, before she looked at 'Maggie' and tried to say, "Look Maggie, I-"

"No no, I get it!" interrupted Maggie before continuing with a sorrowful expression, "You got you big chance to be part of Rosey's little elite corps so you **had** to ge' rid of the bad baggage. I just miss the ol' days ya know…you, me, and Mercury…the prank masters of disaster!" There was even a little tear running down one of Maggie's eyes to complete the scene.

Clearing his throat to get the groups attention, Wolfram decided to get back to business, "As… _interesting_ as seeing this new side of Magnesium has been, we should get going. Onyx will be waiting for us in the labs."

Maggie harrumphed and replied, "You really know how to kill a moment don't ya? Alright, le's get back to the tour!" Whirling the _kamas_ in her hand like cowboy does his pistols, Maggie shoved the weapons (handle first) into holsters underneath her trench coat before walking ahead and opening the doors, allowing the group to move deeper into the base.

"So Amethyst…you _know_ Maggie?" asked Steven curious to the story behind Maggie's statement.

Sighing Amethyst answered, "Look Steven, I didn't have a lot of… _friends_ among the other Gems for reasons I don't wanna talk about. Mercury and Maggie, on the other hand, I really had a connection with. Mercury because of his shapeshifting abilities. But with Maggie…we got along by pranking the other Warriors and Gems! Hehe, there was this one time when…"

As Steven and Amethyst got deep into the story from Amethyst past, Connie snuck away towards Garnet to ask, "I was wondering…it doesn't look like Onyx told Wolfram and Maggie about her suspicions of me and Steven? Why?"

Garnet mulled over how best to explain this to Connie before answering, "Onyx has always believed in 'need to know' information. She won't tell someone anything if she doesn't feel that they 'need to know.' Just…be careful in her laboratory. She also doesn't label any dangerous equipment."

"We're here!" exclaimed Maggie in front of a massive set of double doors. "Just beyond these doors lies a chamber of 'orrors know far an' wide as… **Onyx's Laboratory!** " With that dramatic horror music played over loudspeakers, scaring Steven into Connie's arms who held a determined looked. The Gems…looked less than impressed by Maggie's antics.

"Fine! Just trying to put a little excitement to the tour." Muttered Maggie before giving the secret knock to open the door…'Shave and a Haircut' answered by 'Two Bits.' With that the doors moved open with a creak and a groan and the Group went inside.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to follow along?" asked Pearl remembering some protocol from the last visit.

"Onyx requested a…private visit. We shall be attending to other duties around the facility." answered Wolfram before walking away, Maggie waving goodbye and then cartwheeling in pursuit of Wolfram. Cautiously, the group stepped inside the laboratory and the doors closed behind them. Silence reigned for several minutes…only for the _sounds of arguments_ _ **and meat being stabbed by a blade to come from the room!**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. With the recent Second Stevomb, comes new details to fit into my series. It shouldn't affect this story since it's still in Season one, but as I move closer to the second Season… Anyway I will endeavor to keep this storyline going. As always Read and Review!

1 I imagine the voice actor for Wolfram to be Mark Oliver, most famous for voicing Lord Garmadon on "Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu" and Dr. Thaddeus Blakk on "Slugterra"

2 Megateel and Diamond Glass actual come from the Archie Sonic comic series.

3 The voice actor is Jennifer Hale, but her mannerism are more similar to Agent C.M. Krueger from "Elysium" and Jack from the "Mass Effect" series


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Three: Sinister Studies

As Steven, Connie, and the Crystal Gems entered Onyx's Laboratory, the first thing that was noticeable was the lack of light. The only light came from the glow of chemical in test tubes and from the monitors of the various equipment around the lab. It was also very quit, again the only noise from the equipment…and someone muttering under their breath. The group went deeper into the lab area to come across a workstation in use by Onyx. Onyx was wearing a dark grey Victorian waist coat and pants, with black sensible shoes, her black hair in a pixie cut. The work station was a disorganized mess; chalkboards scribbled with equations and notes, various tools scattered across table tops…and Onyx darting in and around, muttering to herself while at work

"Protein sequence not catalyzing in sequence…serum failure. Psychological evaluations and treatments prove half measure. X-factor required for final conversion back from corruptions.(1)" mutter Onyx, looking over her notes and figures.

"Uh Onyx…?" asked Amethyst as she approached, touching the Gem's shoulder. Startled by the skin on skin contact, Onyx reached to her Gem and pulled out a black Liston knife(2) and slashed at Amethyst, who was barely able to dodge out of the way! The other Gems immediately got into battle stances while Onyx looked around like a trapped animal, only to calm down and put the knife down.

"Apologies. Startled. Won't happen again." stated Onyx, though the Gems cautiously move out of battle stance. Adjusting the coke bottle glasses on her eyes, Onyx walked over to Steven and Connie, only stopped by Garnet appearing in front of her. This proved to be a temporary obstacle as Onyx twirled out of Garnet's reach to stop in front of the two humans.

"Interesting." said Onyx, as she adjust her glasses which were really highly sophisticated scanners, "Organic, yet possessing abilities of Gem and Warrior. No…more specifically, Rose Quartz and Argent! Explain?"

Steven, finally guessing Onyx was talking to him, hesitantly explained, "Well…my mom was Rose Quartz and my dad was human. The Gems never really explained how it worked, but I'd guess…it was just how humans do it?"

"Fascinating. But explain…is Rose Quartz still cognizant within you corporeal construct?" asked Onyx, before sighing at Steven's confused expression and asking a 'dumbed down' version of the question, "CAN. YOU. STILL. SPEAK. WITH. HER?!"

Steven hesitated once again, not willing to lie to a new possible friend, "Well…not really. I mean she did leave me that message once, but…"

Onyx took a few steps back, taking in what Steven implied before talking, "I see…Rose is…no longer with us." A moment of silence filled the room…before being broken by Onyx having a bought of high-pitched, malicious, manically laughter! The Gems and humans just stood there, confused by what about Rose's…passing on would bring about such a reaction. Finally calming down, Onyx's face held an insane smile, like someone hearing the news that their worst enemy had died a slow and painful death.

"Finally, the ever meddlesome Rose has withered away! No longer deceiving with its superficial glory! No longer stinging with hypocritical thorns! No longer blindly stalling SALVATION!" declared Onyx loudly and openly, her hair frizzing and curling. The reaction to the speech were mixed; the Gems being disturbed (though Pearl was more angry at the hateful speech), Connie edging away from the mad Gem, while Steven was simply confused by Onyx's abrupt turnabout.

"So…you and my mom didn't get along?" asked Steven.

This statement once again brought a change to Onyx's mood. First, adopting a confused look with her hair straightening at Steven's 'stupid question,' then sneering at Steven's naivety (hair once again curling) before explaining, "Rose Quartz…single greatest obstacle in research! 'Don't do that…it's bad for the Gems!' 'Don't do that…it could **hurt** them!' 'Don't do that…it's IMMORAL!' Naïve wench!"

"What in the world are you…?" Pearl began to ask, not liking the implications of Onyx's speech.

"Hey guys, I think you need to see this!" exclaimed Amethyst, in front of what looked like a freezer door. She had decided to wander around the lab during Onyx's rant about Rose (one part boredom, another part trying to figure out what was going on). She found two things that disturbed her: shattered gemstones (some of them very recent)…and what was in the freezer.

The Crystal Gems hurried to the freezer door, opening it…and horrified at the contents! Inside were human bodies, either zipped up in black bags, hung as sides of beef or cut up and stored in various jars. Amethyst looked like she was about to hurl up whatever she ate before arriving, Pear looked away in horror, while Garnet tightened her fists with a snarl of rage. Subconsciously summoning her Gauntlets, Garnet turned around quickly pointing an accusing finger at Onyx exclaiming, " _ **YOU!**_ "

Onyx looked a little confused before seeing where the Gems were congregating, held a neutral expression before replying, "See you have discovered Specimen Storage. Hoped you would not see that."

This time Pearl exclaimed while glaring at Onyx, "You been experimenting on humans! Why?!"

Onyx adjusted her glasses before explaining, "Corruption has been problem for Gems for all of history. But Earth presents the largest case in Gem history! Kindergarten incident does not account for continuous issue. Have been studying all aspects of Earth to find cause or cure. Including…the inhabitants."

Garnet whirled around to face Onyx, glowering under her glasses, "It is our jobs as Crystal Gems to **protect** humanity! You have just violated that oath in every way possible!"

"Gave no such oath! Wouldn't even if offered! Besides, protecting humanity would mean that some humans have to die anyway!" exclaimed Onyx, annoyed at the Gems reaction to her experiments.

Amethyst summoned her whip and lashed out, wrapping Onyx up and exclaiming, "Enough talk! Let's just 'poof' her and stick her with the rest of the monsters."

"Wait guys, stop!" shouted Steven jumping in front of the angry Crystal Gems.

"No, Steven. Not this time! Onyx has gone too far!" exclaimed Pearl as she summoned her Spear for a finally strike! Only to hit empty air as Onyx disappeared out of Amethyst's makeshift lasso. Confused, Pearl stared at the area…only for Onyx to leap out of the shadow, punch Pearl away, and grab Steven using him as a shield!

"Stay back!" warned Onyx as she put her knife to Steven's throat, "Don't want to ruin next phase of testing."

"What da ya mean?!" asked Amethyst angrily.

"Simple. Have experiment with Rose's tears, limited success. _However_ , perhaps human element required! Unfortunately, Rose refused to participate, **the hypocrite!** So, only fair that _her son_ not have option to refuse!" declared Onyx, pressing the knife to Steven's throat almost causing him to bleed!

"There is no way out Onyx! You're outnumbered and outgunned!" exclaimed Garnet, hoping to get Onyx to surrender.

Onyx only gave a light chuckle before seemingly staring off in to the space above the Crystal Gems head and saying, "Fools. _I'm never_ _ **alone!**_ "

Just then, a dark green shape shot out from the ceiling and wrapped around Pearl! It was a moderately sized Gem monster, modeling itself after a snake (specifically, a cobra the size of an anaconda), though lacking eyes and a large green gem in its flaring hood. It wrapped itself around Pearl tightly, keep her from summoning her weapon and making it very hard to breathe (though Pearl as a Gem did not need to breathe, it was still very uncomfortable). Garnet pulled back one of her fists to try and knock out the beast when suddenly…

"NO! DON"T YOU HURT HER!" screamed Onyx, before throwing her knife at Garnet, carelessly letting Steven go. Rushing forward, Onyx leapt and spin kicked Garnet, who was only barely able to block it though was knocked on her butt. Amethyst tried to grab Onyx with her whip, only for Onyx to grab the whip and use it to hurl Amethyst into Garnet. Onyx finally coming to a stop in front of the Serpentine Gem…and start stroking its chin!

"Ssshh. It is alright, mean old Gems won't hurt you." said Onyx, in a surprising gentle and loving tone, "So close now. All I need is one thing…" Onyx trailed off looking directly at Steven, with Serpentine following her gaze! Instantly, Serpentine leapt at Steven, unraveling Pearl and spinning her like a top. Steven barely managed to get his 'protection bubble' up in time to stop the Gem monster.

Snarling under her breath, Onyx was about to help Serpentine out…when a _tessen_ flew by her head! The _tessen_ returned to Connie's hand like a boomerang, already in Warrior mode, ready to fight. A smirk of amusement played across Onyx's face as she summoned her knife, only to length by about ten inches in a short sword. Onyx charged forward…only to be blocked by the recovered Pearl!

A smirk played across Onyx's face yet again as she replied while pressing Pearl's defenses, "Ah, Rose's little fan girl! Been meaning to ask: how does it feel to know you _failed_ at your life-long goal? Must be hard seeing the Son, an everlasting reminder of said failure!"

Pearl simply pushed through Onyx's attempts to distract her, knocking the lunatic Gem to the far wall. Just as she was about to 'poof' Onyx, Onyx gave a whistle and the Serpentine, currently dodging between the recover Garnet and Amethyst, spat out a dark green crystal dart which landed with a meaty thud! The Gems all turned around, fearing the worst, to find that the dart had struck…

"CONNIE!" cried Steven in despair at the sight. Connie had been struck by the dart in the right shoulder, causing her to bleed profusely. Rushing over to her side, Steven was able to catch Connie as she feel to ground in shock. The Crystal Gems disengaged from their opponents, who took the distraction to fade into the shadows…

"What's wrong with Connie?!" asked Steven franticly. He knew very little about human medicine but the dart had barely broken the skin. Garnet pulled out the dart revealing that Connie's armor absorbing most of the blow. No bones were broken and the wound that barely amounted to a scratch. And yet Connie was shivering and sweating with a fever!

Garnet looked over Connie, almost like she could see 'inside' Connie.(3) Completing her examination, Garnet gave her report, "She's been poisoned."

Everyone their stood shocked at the news, though it did explain Connie's symptoms. "We need to find the anti-venom. I doubt Onyx would work so closely with that… _beast_ without keeping it within easy reach!" declared Pearl before Garnet motioned her to stop.

"There's no time." Garnet stated simply before looking at Steven and saying, "Steven…you need to use your healing ability."

Steven stood shocked for a second before replying, "Garnet you know I can't-"(4)

"If you don't at least try, Connie will die." stated Garnet simply and firmly. Steven looked down at Connie nervously, as she twitched and shivered. Taking a deep breath, Steven licked his hand to get some healing spit on it and pressed his hand onto Connie's wound. For several tense seconds, nothing happen making Steven feel like he failed, causing tears to flow from his eyes. Then a pink light emerged from his gem which flowed into his hand and then into Connie.

Connie woke with a deep gasp for breath and panted for sweet, sweet air. Steven laughed with joy and hugged Connie, who also laughed and returned the hug. Pearl was nearly in tears, though whether it was from the scene or Steven regaining his abilities was anyone's guess. Amethyst looked relieved that no one had died with a dramatic and somewhat comedic swipe of her arm across her forehead and sigh. Garnet stood stoic with a small grin on her face, before she heard the sound of clapping behind her…

"Bravo." declared Onyx from behind the Gems causing them to turn around and jump back surrounding Steven as the Serpentine wrapped itself around Onyx's shoulders, "Jade's venom incurable by Rose's tears…had to see Steven's fullest abilities…after all…all that was needed was proper _motivation!_ "

"You despicable, arrogant-wait did you say _**Jade's venom?!**_ " Pearl started to say before noticing something Onyx said.

"Oh yes! Jade's corruption was quite sudden. Happen **after** Rose left us fifty Earth years ago. That's when the project became more…urgent." explained Onyx, a pain expression appearing on her face.

"Guys…who's Jade?" asked Steven.

Amethyst shrugged her shoulders having no idea herself before Garnet started explain, "Jade was a healer assigned to this project, but more than that…Onyx and Jade were…very close."

"Oh so close! In fact…why don't _we_ show something we've learned about corrupted Gems over the years!" exclaimed Onyx as she seemed to dance about with the Serpentine (now identified as Jade) around the lab. It only took a second for Gems to understand what she was doing…but it was a second too late! A flash of light followed by a merging of Jade and Onyx occurred, with the sound of moans and groans of pleasure and pain, followed by a deeper maniacal laughter. In the end, the light subsided and a new shape appear before them!

Before the Gems stood a monster unlike anything they had ever seen in their millennia long existence. It stood as a massive twenty foot long dark green and black cobra (though more than half that length was the tail).(5) It held two sets of arms, one overly muscular, while the other set was slim, almost dainty. It wore a set of black armor over its chest which accentuated its…assets. The face was that of a cobra enlarged with venomous green eyes and Chinese characters in the hood reading ' **poison** ' and ' **love** '.

Laugh softly with a hissing tone, the Gem/Monster fusion finally spoke(6), "We…are… **Obsssidian!** We…are…your ennnndssss!" With that declared, Obsidian summoned Onyx's Liston Knife and presumably Jade's _gùn_ staff and combined them into a Chinese _qiang_ spear. Grabbing it and twirling it expertly with the muscular limbs, Obsidian glared at the Gems, and with a hissing roar, charged forward!

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. Sorry it's a little later than usual. My father once again found himself in the hospital! It just…it's the third time this YEAR! Needless to say, I and the rest of the family are frustrated and depressed. I might channel my feelings about the medical profession into this story. There might be some delay with my next update just to warn you. Anyway, please Read and Review!

1 I should probably point out, I am not a science major. So if anything in Onyx speech seems wrong, just keep that in mind.

2 A 6-8 inch long knife used for surgery in the 1840s. Made famous for being used by Jack the Ripper in the movie "From Hell"

3 Point of fact, my Garnet has a form of X-ray vision to help see past walls and other uses. Don't know if she or any of the Gems will have this ability, but it just makes sense for Garnet.

4 Steven 'lost' said ability to heal in the episode "House Guest". Though to be honest I believe he'll only need some…motivation to get it back.

5 Its design is similar to the Viper unit in the upcoming XCOM2 game.

6 In this instance, the fusion's voice actor would be Susanne Blakeslee because not only does she voice Disney villains, but she also voice Rani Naga in the old 'Secret Saturdays 'cartoon.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four: Calamitous Confrontations

We rejoin our heroes in Onyx's lab facing down the Gem/Monster Fusion…Obsidian! The serpentine Fusion charged at the Crystal Gems with her _Qiang_ spear thrusting forward. The Gems dodged out of the way and turned to counterattack…on to find Obsidian had vanished! Looking around desperate to find the Monster fusion, Pearl was grabbed from behind as Obsidian appeared with a hiss from the shadows. Using Pearl as a shield, Obsidian wrap her tail end around Pearl like an anaconda, dislocating her jaw enough so that her mouth could open wide enough to swallow the Gem whole!

"ENOUGH!" exclaimed Garnet as, upon seeing an opening, charged forward bashing Obsidian in the face. The blow cause the monster's grip to loosen allowing Pearl to escape Obsidian's grasp. Before they could capitalize, however, Obsidian once again disappeared into the shadows.

"Ah, what?! Stop playing hide and seek and fight us like a gem you…freak!" exclaimed Amethyst mad as heck at Obsidian's in and out style of attack.

From every shadows came Obsidian's hissing laughter as she replied to Amethyst's taunt, "Fffrrrreeeeaakkk. What an unusual little insult coming from you, Amethyst…" Seeing the confused looks on Connie and Steven's faces, Obsidian continued, "They don't know?! We wonder how they would react! So fun to see! Perhaps we _should_ tell them, just _who_ and **what** you truly are…(1)"

Amethyst gave a battle cry before rushing forward, attacking every shadow Obsidian could be hiding in, unaware that Obsidian was just distracting her. A glob of slime shot out from a shadow just behind Amethyst, landing with a ' _hiss_ ' on her shoulder, burning like acid. Crying out in pain, Amethyst was distracted enough for Obsidian to strike with her spear…only to be intercepted by Pearl!

Obsidian and Pearl attack, parry and counterattack with their respective weapon, both trying to find an opening. In the end Obsidian changed tactics and taunted Pearl, "So Rose Quartz has left us, true? What did it feel like Pearl? To know how horrible you failed your lady fair? To know that a _human_ mattered more to Rose than **you** did? To know that all those millennia of loyalty…of service…all of that _**meant nothing to Rose Quartz?!**_ "

Despite trying to keep Obsidian's words out of her mind, they reach hidden fears and doubts laying underneath Pearl's calm facade. Her attacks became more ferocious…but also sloppy! Seeing an opening, Obsidian knock Pearl's spear out of her hand and sideswipe Pearl into a nearby wall. Moving in for the kill, Obsidian was once again intercepted just in time by Garnet! Knowing she could not defeat Garnet's 'future vision', Obsidian disappeared into the shadows.

Garnet tried to see where Obsidian would strike next, but in the dark laboratory there were simply too many possibilities. Suddenly, Obsidian spoke from the shadows, "Garnet, our least favorite of a bad batch. Tell us, did Rose truly put you in charge, or did you arrive at this point simply by being the _strongest_? One should remember that abilities, even the ability to see into the future, does not make a leader. How pathetic you must be, without your _special gift!_ "

Garnet tried to concentrate on seeing where and when Obsidian might attack, blocking out the rather lack luster attempt to distract her. Unfortunately, that was what Obsidian was counting on! With Garnet's mind locked on the numerous possibilities of the future, she could not keep her mind on what was happening now. Like Obsidian's tail wrapping around Garnet and slamming her into the floor! The pain brought Garnet back to the present, only to be slammed several more times into the floor and then thrown into the nearby wall!

Cockily slithering forward, Obsidian snicker at her plan working so well and gloated, "A Gem should mind her surroundings. It seems your future vision is far from perfect. Can't wait to get a look at what _you're made of!_ " Bring her spear up, Obsidian brought it down on Garnet…or tried to because Amethyst caught it with her whip and pulled it from the Fusion's grasp! Amethyst was joined by Pearl aiming her spear at the gem in Obsidian's chest.

"Give it up! You clearly cannot take us all in a fight! Knock down one of us and the rest will bring you down! Because we…are the Crystal Ge-" declared Pearl before being interrupted by Obsidian.

"Wasn't trying to **win** …" replied Obsidian before pointing upwards towards a red blinking light before explaining herself, "Onyx set of the alarm before the fight started. Our reinforcements should be arriving right…about…NOW!"

And with that the main doors to the lab open revealing the two guards, Magnesium (aka Maggie) and Wolfram in full armor ready for a fight. Steven tried to rush over and explain the situation, but Connie held him back as if sensing something was wrong. Garnet stared at the pair and simply said while gesturing to the entire lab, "You two knew about…this."

Wolfram was the first two answer, "I believe the humans have a saying: you cannot make an omelet without breaking a few eggs."

Pearl was seething at the callous tone Wolfram was using, "You have betraying **everything** we fought for and for what?! The mad delusions of obviously grief stricken Gem!"

"Ouy! I'll have you know that Onyx and Jade were one of my favorite couples walking round this pit! Then Jade goes all beasty and what does Rosey-posey do…nothing!" angrily declared Maggie.

"You think Rose hadn't been trying to cure the corruption?! She worked herself to death trying and-" Amethyst tried to argue only to be interrupted by Obsidian.

"And then she left us with dear little Steven." retorted Obsidian as she was gliding forward, past the confused Gems towards her guards, "And she could not have left us a better parting gift! We will have to be careful studying the _specimen_ ,of course. Simply hand it over and we promise you will leave here unscathed."

That was precisely the **wrong thing** to ask the Crystal Gems to do! "You will NEVER lay one finger on Steven!" declared Garnet before charging at the Monster fusion. Pearl took on Wolfram, who revealed his weapon to be a halberd, while Amethyst took on her old friend Maggie. The Gems were fueled by their love and desire to protect Steven, while their enemies by a mixture of duty and madness!

"Come on Amy! We shouldn't fight…what one little freak compared 'elping out your fellows!" exclaimed Maggie while she playfully dodged Amethyst's whip strikes, until finally the whips wrapped around her _kamas_.

"You I could care less about the Gems that got turned into monsters! But Steven…he's like my brother. You wanna hurt him? Then our friendship is OVER!" Amethyst loudly declared before sending a purple shockwave through her whips striking Maggie and sending her into a wall.

Maggie got back up, smoke clinging to her jacket before she glared at Amethyst saying, "Very well then…" Maggie paused before putting her mask on her face, artificially deepening her voice, " _ **Game ON!**_ " With that, Maggie charged at super human speeds towards Amethyst!

Pearl was having more difficulty fighting her opponent, Wolfram. While she knew next to nothing about the enigmatic guard, Wolfram seemed able to predict and counter her every move! With a bored expression on his face, Wolfram simply and with minimal effort blocked and dodged Pearl's strikes, though a human would not be able to follow the speed the pair were fighting at. At the apex of the fight, Wolfram decided to ask, "Aren't you getting tired of this?"

"Excuse me?!" asked Pearl in an outraged tone. Here she was giving her all in the fight, after millennia of perfecting her fighting style, and this…thug was just bored with it.

"I honestly was looking forward to this fight, what with our similar weapons and fighting styles. But all I am seeing is a tired old soldier. After all, your one reason for fighting left you…for a human. Is it really any surprise you've grown so willing to die?" explained Wolfram in the manner of a school teacher to a student.

Pearl looked down at the floor, angry at the cheek of this Warrior. Angry…at the fact that he may be right. Pearl had always been willing to sacrifice her life for Rose…and yet Rose never seemed to notice. Than a **human** comes along, and Rose _gives her life to bring their son into the world!_ Leaving Pearl and the Gems…leaderless and without purpose!

Then Pearl had a realization and smirked, turning her gaze up to the Warrior and confidently stated, "Except…Rose isn't dead. She is alive in Steven…and I will die to protect him!"

Wolfram rolled his eyes before replying and causing a helmet shaped like a wolf's head to appear on his head, "Again with the 'giving your life' mentality. Oh well…I suppose that the best I can get from you. Do you want to know what I am fighting for? Maybe I'll tell you…if you can actually hit me!" And with that the duel recommenced!

Meanwhile, Garnet and Obsidian were having an all-out brawl! The truth is Garnet was at a loss at Obsidian's new abilities as a Monster/Gem Fusion. Garnet had fought alongside the _true_ Obsidian during the last push against the Homeworld Gems and found her to precise, efficient, and merciful. **This** Obsidian, however, seemed to enjoy torturing her opponents before going in for the kill, dodging Garnets blows at speeds a Gem would have a tough time producing, much less a human. Finally, Obsidian made her move, diving into the shadows and then wrapping herself around Garnet like a python around a pig.

"So much for the _perfect Fusion!_ " gloated Obsidian as she moved in for the kill, "Always we studied under you, looking to see what made you so special. Now we see…there is nothing special at all! Just two _weaklings_ unable to do anything apart, afraid to be alone because they know they would be ground to death when separated! Yet here we are, strong apart, **invincible together!** We just wanted you to know that before you died…we're going to be quite meticulous with little Steven!"

"You talk too much." replied Garnet simply, though strained from the pressure of being crushed. And with that, a flash of light blind Obsidian, who looked back to find…Garnet had disappeared! Confused and curious, Obsidian looked down into her coils…only to be socked in the face by what looked like a red boxing glove! Falling back, the coils loosened to reveal…Ruby and Sapphire, the Gems which made up Garnet!

Hissing in fury, Obsidian charged at the pair, only for Sapphire to pull Ruby to safety and throw some stiletto blades. Obsidian threw her spear…which broke apart into six smaller, but still deadly, spears! Sapphire glided across the floor, pulling Ruby for a ride, keeping ahead of the spears. Unfortunately, Obsidian sunk her tail into the shadow to strike in between the pair of Gems. Ruby tried to get back to Sapphire only to be blocked by a hail of spears, forming a cage around the blue Gem.

Suddenly, Obsidian wrapped around Ruby in a constricting hold, laughing sinisterly, "All you have done is proven our point. Individual, you two are a minor nuisance. In fact…let's make sure that 'future sight' is no longer a problem in the 'future.'" With that, Obsidian's throat swelled, before vomiting a green-black cloud of poison onto Sapphire, causing even the spears holding her to corrode.

Ruby let out an enraged scream, the other half of her soul being under assault by a _**monster!**_ While Obsidian was distracted by her attack on Sapphire, Ruby struggled to get her hand free of the coils…which she did! Thus, Ruby was able to give a haymaker punch to Obsidian's jaws, stopping her attack on Sapphire and stunning the Monster Fusion. Sapphire threw some stiletto blades causing the snake woman to fall back and release Ruby. Back together, the pair rejoined back into…Garnet!

"Cute…but your little trick gained you nothing! We will still crush you into powder!" exclaimed Obsidian as she charged at Garnet only for Garnet to skillfully dodge the Gem Monster.

"Actually, that 'trick' gave me something very important…understanding. Specifically, that you are **not** a true fusion." replied Garnet as she dodged Obsidian's strikes.

"What are you talking about?! We are a perfect fusion!" exclaimed Obsidian, outraged at Garnet's accusation.

"A true fusion would never continually refer to itself as 'we' and 'us'. It is an experience, not an entity, singular or more. There is only one reason you would insist on referring to yourself as more than one being…you can't hear Jade at all can you **Onyx?!** " explained Garnet, causing Obsidian to fall into a blind fury, making her attacks random and sloppy.

Finally, through a blind attempt to hurt Garnet, Obsidian dropped a massive shelf on chemicals onto Garnet, trapping her. Obsidian slithered forward hissing and laughing maniacally, taunting Garnet in Onyx's voice, "You are wrong, Garnet! I hear Jade's voice as clear as a bell!"

Garnet struggled to get the great wait off her, but she could not resist a taunt of her own, "The humans have a name for that…it's called _**schizophrenia!**_ " With that and a might shove, Garnet flipped the shelf so that it would fall heavily onto the Monster Fusion, causing her to 'poof' back into their respective gems. Garnet dashed towards the other fights going on, eager to end this.

Maggie had gained a second wind after putting her mask on. Maggie was moving at incredible speeds, to the point where Amethyst was getting scrape with the kamas with every strike, even when Amethyst employed her adept shapeshifting to avoid them. Amethyst was left panting before she employed a spin-dash to try and knock out the psycho Warrior. Only for said Warrior to leap over the attack, causing Amethyst to crash into a shelf full of chemicals.

Amethyst lay in the chemicals, dazed and confused, before Maggie walked up with her kamas in 'gun-mode.' Pointing on at Amethyst, Maggie remarked, "I always wanted to bring ya to a barbie!" Just as she was about to roast Amethyst, a flying fist from Garnet (literally(2)) knocked her into a nearby wall knocking her out.

Garnet then pulled Amethyst out the wreckage who exclaimed, "I had everything under control!"

Garnet smirked before looking towards Pearl's ongoing duel. Looking towards Amethyst, Garnet waited for a nod confirming that they would help Pearl out. Meanwhile, Pearl was still having trouble fighting the Warrior, in spite of the second wind. It did seem that Wolfram was taking Pearl more seriously now, putting more of an effort in his defense and actually counterattacking. Unfortunately, this made the fight even tougher for Pearl getting hit by glancing blows every now and then.

Wolfram finally had enough, though, as he used the hook of his halberd to knock Pearl off balance! Pearl did not get a chance to stand up before Wolfram pointed his halberd at her throat with a confident smirk. Pearl glared back at him before seeing something which made _her_ smirk. Curious, Wolfram turned his head…only to get punched in the face and into a nearby wall by Garnet!

Helping Pearl to her feet, the Gems rushed over to Steven and Connie, who were hiding behind a desk to keep clear of the fights. "Come on!" declared Garnet as the Gems and children rushed out of the lab doors! But what they did not see was Onyx crawling over to a control panel and pushing a big red button on it. The button flashed repeatedly, while Onyx held and evil grin on her face!

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. I was a little concerned with bring the truth about Garnet out so 'early'. But that's just the price of writing fanfiction. After this and another story I'm working on, I'm doing a drabble series showing how the Warriors' interference change canon…and added new details. Anyway as always…Read and Review!

1 Obsidian is of course talking about Amethyst's origins in the Kindergarten.

2 I'm talking about Garnet being able to use her Fists as projectiles as first seen in the episode "Watermelon Steven"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Five: A-Maze-ing Escape?!

The Gems and children rushed out of the lab, trying to escape the mad Gem scientist and her Warrior guards. After charging through the corridors along a similar route to how they arrived, the group noticed something… Nothing looked the same as before! The cages were gone, the open exercise area was no longer there, and even the main entrance had disappeared.

"What the heck?!" exclaimed a frustrated Amethyst, pounding her fist into the unyielding wall. Pearl turned to Garnet for an answer, but Garnet was deep in thought. Garnet was looking back and forward, trying to find where they might have missed a turn. Seeing no mistake and ever-changing corridors, Garnet came to a horrifying realization…

"The corridors are changing. Almost like the Pyramid Temple.(1)" declared Garnet, shocking the Gems and Steven, though Connie was a little confused, but decided to wait until latter to ask about that adventure.

"But…that just means we need to find the center, right?" asked Steven hopefully, remembering what happened the last time.

Pearl frowned and shook her head before answering, "No…it doesn't follow the same scheme as the Temple. Besides, the center would be the Lab and that's exactly where Onyx would want us to go."

"Hey you guys hear that?" asked Amethyst listening to the faint sound of sliding metal and creaking gears. Walking over to the door they had just came through, Amethyst opened the door…to reveal a completely different room then they were in previously!

"Great, just great. How are we supposed to escape a maze that keeps _shifting the rooms around?!_ " exclaimed Pearl, frustrated at the new situation.

This time Connie stepped up to the leadership role, "Alright, listen up! Garnet…you said you faced something like this before right? Well what happened?"

"The Pyramid kept revolving death trap rooms until the occupant returned to the central room. The solution then was to break the floor of the central room and remove the power source." explained Garnet.

"But this isn't anything like that! Most likely, it's a security measure to keep the monsters from breaking out. Meaning there is no way to get to the exit!" exclaimed Pearl, feeling hopeless.

"Well there's a huge difference in this case…unlike monsters **we can think and recognize patterns!** Now it's probably an automated system, which means there has to be a pattern and thus a flaw. I think we should mark each room we enter a specific way, that way we'll know if the rooms repeat. There has to be a limited number of rooms…once we find out how many there are, we can look for the exit!" explained Connie.

"This is ridiculous. Even if the idea was plausible…this facility is HUGE! There could be **thousands** of rooms filled with traps or monsters! We could run around in circles for days!" exclaimed Pearl, pointing out the flaws in Connie's idea, leaving the girl a little despondent.

"Right now, it's all we have." declared Garnet, lifting Connie's spirits. With that, Pearl reluctantly brought out a piece of chalk from her pocket space(2) and marked the wall with a ' **1** '. Going through to the next room, Pearl marked the wall with the next number. Three rooms latter, Amethyst noticed something…

"Hey, where are the monsters?" asked Amethyst causing the group to notice the room they were in. It was the corridor full of cells with monsters in them…only the doors were open and none of the beats could be seen!

"Onyx must have released them! Oh, as if it wasn't bad enough we were in a shifting maze, now we have to fight who knows how many monsters!" exclaimed Pearl on the verge of a panic attack.

"Chill Pearl. We fight monsters every day. How's this gonna be any different?" said Amethyst calmly, trying to ease Pearl's mind. It did not work.

"Amethyst, we always tried to fight the monsters one at a time, with us as a team! Now they have a chance to gang up on us…not to mention we have no idea how many of them were actually kept prisoner here!" exclaimed Pearl.

"It doesn't matter." said Garnet, "We still need to keep going. We **cannot** let Onyx get her hands on Steven."

"Why?" asked Steven finally speaking since the left the Lab, causing the group to turn in his direction, "I mean…if Onyx could cure all the Gems by doing whatever she wants to do to me…then why not let her?"

Pearl kneeled down, gripping Steven's shoulders comfortingly, before saying, "Steven…even if Onyx was close to a cure (and I saw nothing in her work to indicate that) she could…really hurt you. In a way you might never recover from!"

"But even if it's a small chance, shouldn't we at least try it?" asked Steven, seemingly dead set on trying.

Garnet clenched her fists before responding, "Steven…Onyx is not thinking rationally. That snake she… _fused with_ …was her former partner Jade, a great healer. They had a love more powerful than anything I have seen. But Jade's corruption has left Onyx desperate and unhinged. There is no telling what her experiments might do to you!"

Steven contemplated what the Gems were telling him before looking at Connie. Finally Connie replied, "Look Steven…I don't know much about what causes Gems to become…corrupt. But I don't see how experimenting on humans _or_ you could possibly lead to a cure. We just need to keep you as far away from that nutcase as possible."

"Hey guy!" exclaimed Amethyst at the open door, "Could you hurry up?! I think I see something!"

With that the Gems and children rushed through the door leaving the conversation for another time, though Steven still looked conflicted. The next room they appeared in…was the training area Maggie was introduced in! "Well the rooms are getting more familiar. Maybe we're getting closer to the entrance?" asked Pearl hopefully.

Garnet simply stared ahead, as if looking for something…only to summon her Gauntlets before suddenly exclaim, "It's a trap!" Suddenly walls exploded with Monsters pouring out from the holes! In total there were about five, maybe six monsters of different types, thankfully of the smaller variety. Two of them took humanoid shapes though at least a head taller than Garnet and with a mix of four to five arms each. One monster look like two human torsos stuck together at the waist, the arms acting like legs. The last of the bunch had a bat-like shape with different color for each.

The Gems summoned their weapons along with Connie and Steven. The humanoid monsters charged at Garnet seeking to overpower her. The 'Bats' swarmed over the other two Gems dodging their strikes easily. This left the torso monster for Steven and Connie to deal with. It leapt onto the wall, moving with an easy that belied its clumsy physical structure. Steven managed to block with the shield whenever the monster made a strike against them, while Connie tried to hit it with a boomeranging tessen, unfortunately the torso monster was able to dodge very easily.

Pearl tried everything, including energy blasts to hit the flying monsters but they were just too fast! Thankfully the two Gems were at least able to keep the monsters at bay even if they couldn't land a hit on the beasts. Suddenly, an idea formed in Pearl's mind! Grabbing the end of Amethyst's whip, Pearl pulled hard enough to swing Amethyst at the monsters. At first confused, Amethyst realized Pearl's plan and curled up into a spinning wrecking ball, smashing into the 'bats' causing two of them to 'poof' into their gems and the last one to flee.

Now that she was back on the ground, Amethyst walked over to Pearl…and punched her in the arm! "Would it have killed you to say something?!" asked Amethyst in an exasperated tone. Pearl at least looked ashamed at herself for not having thought to ask. Although that was quickly pushed aside as sounds from the other two fights reached them. Thus Amethyst went to help Garnet and Pearl went to the children's aid!

Garnet was struggling to deal with the two heavyweight monsters by the time Amethyst arrives. Using her Whip, Amethyst caught one of the monsters arms just as it was about to smash Garnet, distracting it. That was just what Garnet needed! With a single punch and Amethyst twirling the whip, the ensnared monster rammed into the far wall, taking out the last bat monster with it. Confused, the other monster stood in shock as Garnet wound up…and punched it where its face would be!

With Steven and Connie, the fight took a turn for the worse. Steven was slowly running out of energy to maintain the shield and Connie had so far been unable to land a finishing blow. The torso creature was about to charge again…when a _white spear_ impaled one of its four arms to the wall leaving it stuck. Taking this distraction, Connie closed her tessen and pushed out the small blade before charging forward and stabbing the beast in the center of its mass. The blade could not quite reach far enough, however, leaving her struggling to hold on. Pearl immediately finished the job by stabbing with her spear on the other side, causing the monster to finally poof into its gem!

With all the monsters taken care of, the group went about the task of collecting the fallen gems…only for a robotic drone to fly in and collect the gems before disappearing into the wall! Too tired to pursue, the group fell to the ground with a groan. "Well, six down…only about a hundred to go right?" asked Amethyst through gasps of breath.

Pearl left out a frustrated groan, before slamming her spear into ground, and exclaimed, "Augh! This is getting us nowhere! We're already at room…' **15** ' and we're no closer to getting out! Not to mention the hundreds of monsters waiting to swarm us in each room will wear us down until…"

Garnet star stoically ahead and simply said, "We have to keep going. It's our only option."

"No…it…ISN'T!" exclaimed Steven, tired and fed-up with see his friend and family suffer for him, "Onyx is probably listening right now so I just want to say: she can have me as long as she lets you guys go."

"No!" "Don't do this Steven!" No way, little man!" the Gems all exclaimed at the same time while Steven put up his hands in a placating gesture.

"Look, even if something bad happens, you guys can come in and save me! I have to do this…you said it yourself Pearl, she just gonna keep us running through the maze until we get exhausted. I have to do this." explained Steven.

Connie walked up and put a hand on his shoulder before saying, "Steven, I want you to know I appreciate what your trying to do."

Somewhat surprised by Connie's reaction, Steven blushed and smiled awkwardly before stammering, "Well, y-y-y-you know-"

Only for Connie to interrupted with, "It's just I can't let you go through with it!" Before squeezing between Steven's shoulder blade and neck, causing him to fall to the floor unconscious!(3) The Gems' stared in shock before Connie nonchalantly turned to them and said, "What? He was going to turn himself over to a _mad scientist!_ Tell me none of you would have done something similar! He'll only be out for about an hour or so."

Pearl rushed over to check on Steven, only to sigh in relief after finding nothing permanent done to Steven. Garnet walked over and easily hefted Steven onto her shoulder in a fireman carry. With that the group made its way through another series of quiet rooms. Trying to break up the silence Connie decided to ask, "So…how long has Garnet been a fusion?"

Garnet immediately stopped causing the rest of the group to follow. Connie grew worried, Garnet was inscrutable as always, but long silences with her general led to explosive encounters! Finally Garnet spoke, "For longer than humans had civilization."

Pearl decided to change the line of questioning, "So Connie…did Steven see Garnet defuse?"

"No, we were taking turns keeping an eye on the fights. He was watching Pearl and Amethyst (they were closer together than Garnet's with Obsidian) while I was watching Obsidian. He only turned around after Garnet came back. So who were those other Gems?" explained Connie before asking her question.

Garnet gave a smirk before responding, "That's something I'd like to explain all at once. Wait til Steven's next birthday for the answers." Leaving Connie frustrated, the group walked further along until…

"Finally!" exclaimed Pearl before she explained herself to the startled group, "We've been in this room before!" Pearl said while pointing at the number ' **5** ' written on the wall in chalk.

"Alright! Now we're getting somewhere!" yelled Amethyst excited that Connie's plan seemed to be working. Garnet, on the other hand, seemed to be looking for something…

"It's another trap!" exclaimed Garnet as she summoned her weapons. Just then, bursting through trapdoors, were nearly **three times the number of monsters in the last trap!** The Gems were swarmed while Connie fought off the occasional monster to keep the still unconscious Steven safe. What she _doesn't_ see is a dark shadow appearing on the wall near herself and Steven. Out of the shadow, as quiet as can be, a serpentine tail wrapped around Steven slowly dragging him into the shadow…

"Steven!" exclaimed Connie who had just turned around to check up on him. She tries to save him but a swarm of monsters jump on her, allowing Steven to disappear into the shadow! The Gems, hearing Connie's cry, rush over to help! Only later did they realize that the monsters topped attacking almost at the same time as Steven is abducted. By the time the Gems arrive, Steven is gone and they are left with a grief stricken Connie.

Amethyst pulls Connie into a hug trying to console the little girl. Pearl dropped to her knees, tears forming in her eyes. She had failed Rose, she thought, failed her so completely. Garnet gritted her teeth aware of what had happen. Steven was now in the hands of Onyx!

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. Sorry it takes so long, the last couple of weeks have been stressful. Also, the Steven Bombs keep adding new things to the canon verse and I have to decide what can be place in my storyline. But that's for another day. Anyway, please Read and Review!

1 As seen in the episode "Serious Steven." Though the Facility in this story is more based on the _Cube_ film series

2 As first seen in the episode "Lars and the Cool Kids"

3 Vulcan nerve pinch, b#$% !


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Six: Experiments in Fear!

Steven opened his eyes slowly, blinking at the blinding light in his eyes. Thinking he was in his bedroom and that all that happened before must have been a dream…only to find that he couldn't even lift his head off the 'bed'! His eyes snapping open, Steven glanced around frantically, revealing that he was strapped down on a lab table (or a surgical table, whichever proved more correct). Trying to use his superhuman strength proved pointless, and he also couldn't summon his protective bubble for some reason. This all lead to the inescapable conclusion…Steven was trapped with Onyx!

"Awake? Good! Participant gives more answers when awake." exclaimed Onyx, stepping out of the shadows wearing a surgical smock and mask along with rubber gloves. Stepping closer to Steven Onyx reached behind her back…and pulled out a tape recorder before speaking into it, "Subject Steven now appears responsive. The time is 1438 Earth time. Shall begin session with Q&A before proceeding further."

With that Onyx placed the still recording device on a table close to before stepping uncomfortably close to Steven and asked, "Comfortable?"

"Not really. The straps are kind of tight, plus I'm getting kind of hungry. Maybe you could loosen them up a little?" Steven asked politely.

Onyx smirked before speaking into the recorder, "Subject _already_ attempts to coerce escape attempt. Might be more intelligent than previously observed."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?! You think I'm stupid!" exclaimed Steven both hurt and insulted by what Onyx said.

To which Onyx replied, "More naïve than stupid. Clearly indicative of a sheltered lifestyle. No doubt _Crystal Gems_ believe to be protecting you from harsh truth. So idiotic."

Onyx walked over to the other side of the table before continuing, "Conversations recorded indicates overly optimistic behavior, possibly a mask for deeper psychological issues. Also demonstrates near suicidal tendencies."

"Wait…'conversations recorded'?" asked Steven, wondering what Onyx meant.

Onyx simply smirk activating a row of screens revealing…every instance of the Gems' 'visit' to the facility! "That's right. Been recording you since you arrived. So many information on Gems' psychology. And of course… _ **yours!**_ "

Producing her knife from her Gem, Onyx slowly approached Steven while doing a monologue, "Pearl…still obsessed with Rose Quartz and her approval. Garnet…maintaining a strong front to mask insecurities underneath. Amethyst…hating herself for how she was born! Connie represents the most stable of the group and she is insecure as to her abilities!

"And then we come to _**you!**_ One would not _imagine_ how psychologically unstable **you** are. So many trends towards self-destruction. It almost makes the vengeance I will exact through you seem…pointless."

"Wait…what?!" exclaimed Steven shocked by this new bit of information.

Onyx only grinned sinisterly under her mask before responding, "Of course! Your _mother's_ discontinuing to aid in my research drove me to theses extremes! My beloved Jade cracked under the pressure… But now here last little gift to the world will make up for all of it. Oh, you will not be dying anytime soon…that is a guarantee!"

And with that, a series of surgical instruments and probes descended from the ceiling towards Steven! Steven began to sweat and flinch, trying to escape from the table while Onyx looked on amused. "Relax." said Onyx calmly, "I don't intend on simply 'cutting you open' or 'using unstable chemicals' on you quite yet. You are, after all, a rather unique specimen!"

Slowly on of the tools entered Steven's mouth forcing it open, while a small hose entered the open mouth and sucked up some of Steven's saliva. Going through the tube, the saliva went through a machine which analyzed the composition. Onyx looked over the readings, humming and hawing, before speaking, "A _slightly_ higher composition of minerals than in normal human saliva but nothing to spectacular. There must be a mental component to excite the process…clearly fear of death or injury is not it."

Steven could only lay there helpless as Onyx planned her next round of tests. Steven looked around trying to find something to help him escape…only to see something move in the shadows! At first, Steven assumed it was Onyx's snake friend, until he saw a movement by his table. Out of the shadows poked Connie's head! Steven tried to say something until Connie shushed him while she began looking for a locking mechanism on the manacles until…

"Hmmm…should I stimulate the hippocampus or the amygdala?(1) Emotion is most likely variable in healing abilities, but would artificially stimulating emotions work? Perhaps better to force Steven to relive moments of successful uses? Oh well, better to try latter." pondered Onyx before turning around…to face Steven on the table alone!

Steven looked around to try and see Connie only he could not. Onyx simple stepped forward and removed the gear from Steven's mouth allowing him to ask, "Could I have something to drink? I'm really thirsty."

Onyx stared at Steven for a moment before realization crossed her expression, causing her to face palm and exclaim, "Aargh! Stupid! Forgot humans require sustenance. Can't lose Steven like first fifty test subjects."

With that Onyx turned and left, but not before saying in a pseudo sweet tone, "Don't go anywhere! _Hehehehe_ "

Connie instantly reappeared next to Steven, after seemingly blending in with the background and a hood disappearing from her face. "Wow, cool! How'd you do that?" asked Steven quietly.

Connie shrugged and responded, "I don't exactly know the answer yet, but it's not important right now. I got to get you out of here." And with that Connie continued to try and pull the straps off of Steven. It took a little effort but Steven was finally able to roll off onto the floor…though not quite as gracefully as he wanted. He quickly got back up and he and Connie slowly and quietly made for the exit.

"Unfortunate…should have resupplied early. Only bread and water. Well, should be sufficient before-" said Onyx as she stepped back into the room, before seeing that Steven was escaping! Pulling out a whistle, Onyx blew out a note which summoned the Serpentine monster. Seeing the new threat, Connie and Steven rushed towards an open vent which Connie had snuck into the room through. The Serpentine monster swiftly followed them!

Rushing through the vents, Steven followed Connie to where he hoped the Crystal Gems were. He only paused briefly upon hearing a hissing noise growing closer behind him. Guessing it was that Monster Onyx hung out with, Steven gathered up his thoughts…and formed his shield behind him, blocking the Serpentine's path! With that taken care of, Steven continued to follow Connie. A few minutes later, the sound of a large band and a hissing cry of pain could be heard.

"What was that?" asked Connie unaware of Steven's previous actions.

"Nothing. Let's get to the Gems." replied Steven. With that Connie listened for something before moving ahead to a grate. Pushing it open, the kids dropped down into the waiting arms of the Crystal Gems.

"STEVEN!" exclaimed the Gems, glad that Steven was brought safely back. They were swarming over Steven giving him hugs and signs of loving affections, while Steven giggled. Connie was outside the group feeling Happy that Steven was safe…and yet isolated from the group.

"How did Connie get into the lab?" asked Steven once the Gems had worked out their worries.

"Well it turns out that while the _rooms_ change position, the _**ventilation system**_ remains the same! It's how the Monsters were able to get into position to ambush us. Unfortunately, Onyx keep sending them to distract us after she took you. Only Connie could get in without Onyx noticing. And with that…here you are!" explained Pearl gushing with joy at Steven's safe return.

"So…can we use the vents to get out of here?!" asked Steven hopeful after his ordeal with Onyx in her lab.

The looks of joy fell on the Crystal Gems' faces as Amethyst responded, "Sorry little man but…no dice. It's a closed system or something. We're still stuck in this place until we can find a way to the front door."

Just then an intercom system squeaked to life, followed by the angry voice of Onyx, "Return…my…specimen…NOW!"

Garnet glared up at the ceiling before exclaimed, "Why don't you come get him, you coward!"

Onyx calmly replied, "Why waste the energy, when patients can do the work for me? Speaking of…fifteen minutes before you face…everyone."

Pearl looked a bit puzzled so asked, "When you mean 'everyone' do you mean-?"

Only to be interrupted but Onyx shouting, " _ **EVERYONE!**_ " And with a hiss and a crackle, the intercom was turned off.

The team huddled together to come with an idea, Pearl making the first suggestion, "We need to get ready quickly! Stay away from the vents and let the monsters come to us."

"Yeah, that way we'll be outnumbered **and** surrounded!" exclaimed Amethyst stress already beginning to show on her face.

"We can't survive if we wait for the attack to come." said Garnet in a matter of fact tone of voice.

"Maybe I should just turn myself over. She wasn't doing anything really bad." suggested Steven wanting to spare the Crystal Gems pain.

But Connie would not have it, "Steven! She was about to start performing brain surgery! You are **not** going back in there!"

"Maybe he should…"said Garnet surprising everyone before she explained, "What I mean is that instead of waiting for onyx to attack, we go to her. Here's the plan…"

STEVEN UNIVERSE

Onyx paced around in the lab, waiting for a response from the Gems. Steven escaping just when she was getting results was…infuriating to say the least. Not to mention Jade getting hurt during her pursuit of the children… The minutes were ticking by slowly on the console. Her irritation was plain and visible for all to see.

"Time is up." Onyx declared over the microphone, before moving to release a massive swarm of monsters onto the Crystal Gems…

"Wait!" exclaimed Steven as he fell out of the vent with Connie. Eventually the pair lifted themselves up and dusted off their clothes. All the while, Onyx was frozen, her finger over the button, an expression of surprise on her face. Steven seeing this immediately said, "I'm here. Let the Gems go!"

Onyx mulled over her options…but seeing Steven in her grasp…she presses the button anyway! Looks of shock crossed Steven and Connie's face as Onyx pushed another button, opening a nearby door revealing Magnesium ('Maggie') and Wolfram walking in. Onyx sits down in a swivel chair, while the Jade Serpent coiled around her neck, turned and faced the two children and seeing their shocked looks simply replied;

"Oh don't look so surprised! Crystal Gems would have attempted another rescue. Besides…might be useful, patients haven't been able to exercise in a while. Now, Connie was it? As interesting as your physiology might be, will not be useful in this round of experiments. However, could be used to comfort Steven so…Maggie, move the dear girl to a more comfortable surroundings. Wolfram, strap Steven to table and standby. There will be no more escapes."

The Warriors were quick to obey their instructions, Maggie moving towards Connie. Connie struggled under the manic marauders grip, which thanks to her hybrid state, was slightly more effective than it would be otherwise. Unfortunately it was still a fight between an adult and a child and Connie was slowly dragged away. Just then, a **purple gem** fell out of Connie's pocket!

Maggie reached down and picked the gem up curious to what it was. Her eyes widened under her mask when she recognized just **where** she had seen the gem before! Suddenly, a bright glow came from the gem which faded to reveal…Amethyst! Amethyst quickly hurled a punch which knocked Maggie back in a nearby wall.

Shocked by the big reveal, the other two villains almost missed Pearl's reappearance near Connie or Garnet's right behind Steven. Onyx leapt back towards Wolfram, her Monster partner still on her shoulders. Maggie eventually shook of the dizzy spell from Amethyst punch to regroup with her fellow conspirators. Once together the group drew their weapons as did the Crystal Gems. Before anyone moved, Onyx simply asked, "How?"

"We knew you would go back on your world so we used it to our advantage. You forgot that Gems don't really **need** to be injured to go back into their gems. It allowed Connie and Steven to carry us through the vents straight to you. Meanwhile, you sick all of your monsters into an empty room. Now you're all outnumbered and you **will** release the main doors, otherwise…" explained Garnet before slamming her Gauntlets together to emphasize the 'consequences.'

What the Gems (or even her allies) did not expect was for Onyx to give off a maniacal laugh. "AHAHAHAHA! You truly expect me to let the key to my millennia of work just leave?! Unlike you _Crystal Gems_ , I have actually tried to cure these poor lost souls of their affliction. So what if a few humans had to die to further that research? In the end, _I'll_ be their savior whilst you…your little group will be lost to the trash bin of history!"

"Wait, I thought you were doing this to get Jade back." replied Steven to Onyx's rant.

"Of course I intend to bring her back…but is a little accolades for all my hard work too much to ask?!" retorted Onyx nastily, cause the snake on her shoulders to look at her worriedly. It seemed 'Jade' had at least enough awareness to see what the centuries of unethical experimentation had done to Onyx's mindset, especially with the lack of her affection. This translated in her warped mind as 'Someone needs a hug!'

"And now if you would kindly…Jade what are you doing? I don't need a huuugh! This is truly an inappropriate time! WHOA, watch where you slithering!" Onyx's speech was interrupted by 'Jade' wrapping around the scientist and 'hugging' her, causing Onyx to try and wiggle her way out her overly affectionate lover's grip.

The other two Warriors were distracted by the rather strange display, giving the Gems the perfect chance to strike! Amethyst rushed Maggie, the force of the charge slamming them into some lab equipment. Pearl, on the other hand, simply pointed her Spear at Wolfram's neck, who looked borrowed before batting the spear away, starting the beginning of a long duel between the two. Garnet stood in front of the children waiting for the mad scientist to make her move…after escaping her lover's grasp for.

Finally prying herself out from the overly affectionate snake, Onyx looked around to see the situation turn around completely! Maggie was wrestling with Amethyst in, while Pearl and Onyx were dueling across the laboratory. Meanwhile Garnet was staring Onyx, daring her to try something, creating a Mexican standoff, neither participant moving an inch. Onyx then tried to go for the monitor to summon back her 'patients' when Garnet launch one of her Gauntlets like a missile, destroying the monitor and console.

Onyx held an exasperated expression on her face as she turned and replied to Garnet's action, "You do realize that you have also destroyed the only means of turning off the security devices in this facility…including the one turning the corridors into an ever-shifting maze! Don't think the vents lead outside, they were for construction drones to move around this facility. You…stupid short-sighted simpleton! Why couldn't you let me complete my work! Steven would have been returned…mostly intact. But nooo…you all your feelings to compromise your judgement. You are a horrible leader!

"I wonder…did Rose really decided to put you in charge or did you bully yourself into that position? Must be the later…then again there were few choices. Either you or the fawning little Pearl desperate to please a Gem who cared _**nothing**_ for her. Amethyst is an immediate write-out though, a selfish little child incapable of making a decision on what she would do the following, much less able to handle life or death crises. It's amazing your little group hasn't self-destructed by now!"

"Enough talk, all you ever do is talk." exclaimed Garnet angry at the insults to both herself and her team readying herself to attack.

"True, I do talk quite a bit. But the main thing I have always found is I can also be sooo… _distracting!_ " remarked Onyx with a haughty grin. The reason for the haughtiness became obvious when the Jade Serpentine swiftly dropped from the ceiling to wrap around Garnet in a similar constricting manner as it did to Onyx previously. Onyx walked over calmly with a spring in her step, summoning her Liston Knife in one hand, while Garnet tried to pry the snake monster from her.

Now right next to the seemingly distracted Garnet, Onyx brought her knife up…and brought it down! Only to be blocked by Steven's shield! Confused for a moment, Onyx quickly grew angry at being robbed of her kill and struck at Steven's shield repeatedly with her knife hoping to break through and kill Garnet. Connie finally managed to get in the game by tackling the psychotic Gem, the pair rolling across the ground towards the broken console and monitor. Struggling with the surprisingly strong hybrid, Onyx was becoming increasingly frustrated with the delays and upsets.

In the end, Onyx spotted a red button on the console, the self-destruct for the Facility in case of a massive breakout. Struggling to reach it, Onyx slowly reached the button, though Connie tried to stop her knowing only that Onyx wanted to use it. Struggling in Connie's grasp, Onyx used her other hand to reach into a hidden pocket in her jacket. Then Onyx threw a batch of powder into Connie's eyes and nose, causing her to unintentionally release her opponent to rub her eyes of the stinging, stinky, substance. Onyx stood up and smashed her hand down on the button causing alarms to ring throughout the room as an announcement was hear:

" **Self-destruct Initiate. Facility Purge Will Begin In…Five Minutes.** " the deep female voice of the announcement system announced. This distracted the Gems from their individual fights, allowing Maggie to knock off Amethyst and Wolfram to trip Pearl. They quickly ran over to Onyx's position (along with the Serpentine monster) while Onyx was fiddling with a watch like device on her wrist.

"Well, Gems, this has been…informative. I'm afraid I must cut our time short however." explained Onyx as she pulled a data drive for the console and activated the device around her wrist. With a quick sizzle and pop, Onyx, Maggie, Wolfram, and the Serpentine monster…disappeared in a flash of light. Briefly, the Crystal Gems and the children were frozen to their spots by the sudden disappearance, only for the countdown to shock them back to their senses.

" **Facility Purge Will Begin In…Four Minutes.** " That announcement cause the Gems to frantically search the console for anything that could get them out of the facility in time. But alas…the console had been rendered useless by Garnet's attack!

"How the heck are we supposed to get out of here?!" exclaimed Amethyst on the verge of panic. Fortunately, an idea quickly came from an almost unlikely source…

"The vents. Like we discovered they stay in exactly the same position. All we need to do is get to the other end while the monsters are distracted. Then we somehow open the main doors and get out of here." explained Connie. Unable to think of an idea the Gems quickly agreed to the plan. Garnet pulled the vent cover off then Pearl and Amethyst went first followed by the children. It took a little 'squeezing' but Garnet fit through too.

" **Facility Purge Will Begin In…Three Minutes.** " The chilling announcement continued its countdown of doom. The Gems and children made their journey in relative ease and quiet (aside from a comment by Pearl on the filth of the vent and Amethyst gently teasing her). Then they began to move past the room the monsters were all congregated in! Slowly and quietly, each member of the group crawled through the vent, making sure to be at least no louder than the monsters below. Then…

" **Facility Purge Will Begin In…Two Minutes.** " Somehow the announcement seemed to come from the ventilation system, almost purposefully revealing our heroes location to the monsters! Charging towards the vents, many of the monsters tried to skew the heroes with their claws. Garnet battered them back down with her Gauntlets while the Gems and Children tried to make it to the next room. Thankfully none of the monsters were able to make it into the vents,, so our heroes continued on.

Eventually the heroes made it to the end of the system, leading to the first room of the facility. Dropping down from the ceiling, the Children and Gems stared at the looming door before realizing the next big problem… "How in the world are we supposed to open this?! The controls were most likely back in the lab!" exclaimed Pearl in realization.

"Yeah and we only got like-" stated Amethyst before being interrupted by the announcer.

" **Facility Purge Will Begin In…One Minute.** "

Frantically, the two Gems looked around for a control panel or a latch, but to no avail. Finally, Garnet ordered, "Amethyst…we need to fuse!"

"Are you sure?" asked Pearl, concerned at Sugilite's unpredictable nature(2) and also the relatively small size of the room.

"Sugilite is the only one capable of smashing through those doors! Amethyst…" explained Garnet before reaching a hand to Amethyst. Amethyst sighed, normally excited to fuse into Sugilite but after last time(3)… Anyway with a quick fusion dance (looking like the two Gems were at a night club) and a brief flash of light, the massive Titan Fusion known as Sugilite made the scene!

"WOOO! And back by popular demand is the fabulous-' _crash'_ Ow! Couldn't ya have a picked a bigger venue!" exclaimed Sugilite first in joy, then after hitting her head on the ceiling in pain and anger.

" **Facility Purge Will Begin In…Thirty Seconds.** " The countdown killed any nerves Pearl had about this plan and thus demanded, "We need to focus. You just need to smash down that door!"

"Oh, you beat me **once** and suddenly you think I'm gonna do everything you say?!" sarcastically asked Sugilite. Fortunately, Sugilite was only seemed to be in the mood to be slight stubborn today. Cracking her knuckles (all four sets of them) Sugilite drew back one fist and smashed it full force into the main door! Surprising only a large dent appeared in the door, so Sugilite unleashed a barrage of punches at the door, leading up to the final countdown…

" **Facility Purge Will Begin in…Twenty, Nineteen, Eighteen…** " The countdown caused Sugilite to become more and more frustrated with the door holding under her assault. Finally, she drew back two of her fists, arms wrapping around each other like a spring propeller(4). Pearl, recognizing the devastating attack, jumped back pulling Steven and Connie with her. Thrusting her now spinning fists forward, Sugilite blasted the doors apart leaving a hole just big enough for even the massive fusion to get through. With that the group rushed outside as the countdown just finished…

" **Five, Four, Three, Two…One. Have a nice day.** " With that rather ironic announcement, the whole entrance disappeared in a flash of light. Not an explosion…the doorway just disappeared. What once was a gaping hole in the mountainside, was just…more mountainside. "Aah, I was hoping for a big boom!" groaned Sugilite in disappointment.

Pearl looked drained by the whole affair when she said, "Let's just go home. Stay fused or not…I just…don't care." Sugilite looked surprised as Pearl walked away, before the collective memory of Garnet and Amethyst came. Deciding not to push Pearl, Sugilite defused back into Garnet and Amethyst and joined her at the Warp Pad. Steven and Connie looked back at the mountainside before walking back with the Gems. Everyone just wanted to put this whole… _ **nightmare**_ behind them.

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. Unfortunately certain computer problems and car troubles delayed the update. The good news is that my father is finally out of the hospital. Hopefully he'll stay out! Anyway, just the epilogue next then onto the next story. Please Read and Review!

1 Please know I am not an expert in the human brain or biology. Just bear with me.

2 I have since switched the Fusion to their canon versions. In previous stories, just imagine the correct Fusion where a 'fanon' one is mentioned.

3 Reference to the episode "Coach Steven".

4 This attack is seen in the episode "Cry for Help"


	8. Chapter 8

Epilogue: Inconclusive Results…

 _The next day…_

Steven was sitting on his bed think about what happened on his previous mission. Onyx was such a contradictory foe that Steven really did not know how he should feel about her. On one hand, she was an arrogant mad scientist willing to experiment on people to get what she wanted! On the other hand, the main reason she went crazy was because someone near and dear to her had been transformed into a monster. There was also her accusations about Steven's mom, Rose Quartz, _abandoning_ Onyx at her time of greatest need…

"Steven." Said Garnet suddenly appearing next to Steven's bad, before leaning down and putting a hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

"Not really. I just can't get over Onyx. I mean she did some really bad things but she did it because she lost some she loved. Does that really make her a bad guy?" asked Steven desperate for some advice.

Garnet sighed before she tried to answer him, "A lot of people have fallen into the thinking that 'the ends justify the means.' That as long as you have good intentions, it can justify any means to achieve it. But the truth is there's a point where you can't really justify said means. When she started experimenting on humans, Onyx went **way** over the line! Maybe you can get her to see that someday…but right now we need to stop her!"

Steven nodded sadly before something Garnet said made him asked, "There's another thing I don't get…why was she experimenting on humans at all?"

Garnet thought long and hard before she answered, "There is a theory about Gem corruption called the Gaia Theory.(1) Essentially the Earth is a living creature in and of itself, and thus has a sort of immune system like humans. Given what you've been taught on that subject, what would be the closest analogy for Gems if that turns out to be true?"

"Viruses?" replied Steven somewhat hoping he was wrong, only for Garnet to nod her head confirming he was right.

"It's possible that Onyx thought that by studying humans she could find some way to stave off or even reverse the corruption of her fellow Gems, especially Jade." Garnet finished explaining.

Steven had a thoughtful look on his face before he asked his next question, "Is that why mom wanted me…because of this Gaia thingy?"

"Oh Steven no!" exclaimed Pearl, having overheard this conversation and where it was leading, "Never think that! I truthfully never fully understand why Rose wanted a child, but it could only have been for love not as some…science experiment."

"Yeah Stevie." chimed in Amethyst hearing the same warning signs Pearl did, "Besides you got us and we're _never_ gonna leave your side!"

"Really?" asked Steven in childish hope as the Gems began giving him a group hug.

"Face it kid, you're stuck with us…through thick and thin." remarked Garnet in a joking tone. This caused Steven to laugh, his mood lightening from the previous conversation. It's always nice to know that no matter what problems came his way, he was never alone!

STEVEN UNIVERSE

 _At the Maheswaran residence, Connie's bedroom…_

Never in all of her life had Connie felt more alone. The previous adventure seemed to illustrate the strain her new status as a half-Warrior, half-human had put on her relationship with Steven and his family. The Gems were always uncomfortable around her now, like she was a time-bomb or more accurately an angry dog waiting to pounce on Steven. Steven seemed to take it in strides, but the real problem came from the fact that she had **no one** to help her learn her new abilities! Anything she had been able to do now was just instinct, with no understanding of how or why!

In a fit of anger, Connie grabbed a nearby model ship and threw it into the wall! Gasping at her actions, Connie listen to find out if her parents had heard…luckily it seemed they didn't. The worst part was that her parents didn't know… _couldn't know_ about any of this! Whether it was her restored eye sight or any other ability, Connie had tried her best to hide it from her parents. Though the Gems rescued Connie, her parents were still distrustful of them and they did not even know about the Gems' connection to Steven! Every lie Connie told seemed to be piling up with no end in sight…(2)

Suddenly Connie heard a tapping at her bedroom window. Looking at the window, Connie saw a little black bird (possibly a raven, she could not be sure) tapping at the window with a look on its face asking to be let in. Connie was hesitant, her mother gave her more than enough lectures on how wild birds could carry diseases or parasites. Shaking her head, a strange feeling urged Connie to let the bird in…so she did.

The little black bird fluttered inside, careful not to knock anything over. Finally the bird landed on the floor in front of Connie…and beams of light shot out from its eyes! Shocked, Connie stepped back and covered her face, only no explosion came. Pulling her hands away from her face, Connie looked down at the bird to see that it was projecting a hologram…specifically of Lord Titanium, Master of the Forged Warriors!

"Hello, Constance," simply greeted the massive form of Lord Titanium, "it has been quite some time. I hope that you do not still hard feelings about the last time we met."

"What are you doing here?!" exclaimed Connie, quietly. She did not want to wake her parents it was the middle of the night…but to be honest, yes she was still made about the last time they met. He had effectively captured all the Gems and Steven along with herself in order to give a history lesson, along with a confession on attempted murder!(3)

"Yes, perhaps I was a _little_ forceful in pointing you to the direction of the Echidna Project. But Steven also needs to learn that his actions, good or ill, all have consequences." explained Titanium, "But that is neither here nor there. I simple 'stopped by' to ask: how are you feeling?"

Connie looked shocked by the question, before growing suspicious of his motives. But finding no fault in answering his question (and having a desire to vent some of her frustration) Connie replied, "Honestly, it mixed bag. Being able to follow Steven on his adventures is great! But…it seems like the Gems either don't know or don't want to answer any questions I have about my new abilities. I just wish…"

"You wish to have what Steven has: teachers to help guide you in this unique transition your life has found itself in?" Titanium finished for Connie, "I can help you in that."

Now seeing where Titanium was going with his line of questioning, Connie furiously replied, "Why should I accept any help from you?! You killed nine people to give me theses powers in the first place! Not to mention that this whole adventure (where Steven almost got _experimented_ on by the way) was your doing!"

"Because only through me will you get any form of training in your abilities at all!" replied Titanium equally angry, "You are right…the Gems will **never** be able to help you! Either because they know next to nothing about your abilities or because they view you as a threat on Steven's life!"

Connie quietly pondered the Warlord's retort…and could find no fault with his argument. Even before she gained these abilities she felt isolated from the Gems, who did not see a close relationship with a human working out. Instead of removing the pressure, her new hybrid state seemed to increase her problems. Sighing in defeat, Connie asked the hologram, "What would I have to do?"

With this Titanium grinned and explained to Connie what she must do…

STEVEN UNIVERSE

 _Later that night on the beach…_

Connie snuck out of her house and went to the location Titanium told her about several hours later. Among her new abilities was not needing to sleep for more than an hour a day, and being able to go without sleep for much longer than a normal human. The place she was going to was a cave on the other side of the beach from the Crystal Gems Temple.(4) Upon reaching the cave, Connie saw the Warrior Mercury standing in the cave!

Looking up Mercury notice Connie and grinned before standing up, summoning his chain whip and saying, "Well then. Let the training…begin!"

 _ **THE END…FOR NOW!**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Steven Universe or any characters or elements that are contained in the series. I only own this story and the original characters (i.e. villains and monsters) and concepts that go with it. Whelp, this took long than usual. Anyway, onto my next story, which is a SheZow/Steven Universe crossover called, "The Day The Music Died" which will be feature in a more canon timeline. Let's just say a favorite OC of mine is paying Steven a little visit… Read and Review everybody!

1 Based and inspired partially by a concept in du911's story, "Big Brother Hellboy"

2 To be clear for those who watch the show, this particular story takes place before "Fusion Cuisine". I believe that the added strain of keeping her own magical secret along with Steven's would lead to some early trouble.

3 This is reference to my last Steven Universe story, "Illumination".

4 This same cave was seen in the first of this series "The Forged Warriors."


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